NEWS
The final three students allegedly involved in disturbances during the March 28-30 weekend were arraigned Wednesday in 54-B District Court.
Tyler Barrett, an interdisciplinary studies in social science junior, Kevin Byer, a finance senior, and Jon Pearsall, a merchandise management junior, were all arraigned Wednesday.
A total of 22 people, including 17 students, have now pleaded innocent to charges including inciting a riot, indecent exposure, public intoxication and minor in possession.
Some of the cases - mostly those involving inciting a riot and property damage - will go to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office, while others will stay within East Lansing officials' jurisdiction.
Five students arraigned in the charges have contacted ASMSU for legal help, said Brian Jeffries, one of the attorneys for MSU's undergraduate student government's legal services.
Four students have already been suspended by university officials for their alleged involvement in the incident.
"If you had to wait for two or three weeks' time to solve it, you could, in theory, have a problem on your hands," said Rick Shafer, assistant director of the Department of Student Life.
Under the MSU Board of Trustees policy which came as a result of the March 27-28, 1999 riots, students can be punished by the university for off-campus activity.
Suspended students cannot seek council from ASMSU because they no longer have student status.
"It puts the students in a tight bind - a Catch-22," Jeffries said, adding these cases have received much more publicity than others.
Defense lawyers for those charged with riot-related offenses will attack video and photos and try to argue the tapes don't demonstrate illegal behavior.
